Barcelona, Spain | July 26, 2017– In line with Immfly’s ambition to work with best in class content suppliers that guarantee quality onboard services, the company has recently announced a new partnership with The Weather Network to provide passengers with live weather updates while in-flight. Starting from July 2017 passengers onboard XL Airways, Volotea, Iberia Express and upcoming clients, will be able to view their destination’s real-time meteorological conditions along with a 7 day forecast.

Available now, the Your Destination section of Immfly’s platform, which includes activities, transfer services and travel tips among others, extends its offering to embrace the weather report, hence providing users an 360º overview of their destination. Integrated with Immfly’s white labeled channels, The Weather Network’s and El Tiempo’s digital content performs seamlessly across devices creating an informational user-friendly section available in several languages.

“We are very excited to bring our company’s on board services one step further with the offering of this new channel hand in hand with a well-known worldwide provider,”states Martina de Santis, Key Account Manager at Immfly. “Our focus lies on continuously building projects around technological and content innovations that keep us and our airline clients ahead in the market, in order to reassure that we offer passengers a unique and wide-ranging digital experience.”

Carlos Astorqui, Managing Director for El Tiempo added “Travel and weather go hand in hand, there’s certainly a need for weather information on this platform and we’re delighted to offer travellers an up to date, accurate forecast while in the air. It’s important that we’re able to provide forecasts and deliver content whenever it’s needed and Immfly’s network has allowed us to do this. It truly is your weather when it really matters. We will be working closely with Immfly in the coming months to further develop this partnership.”

Telefonix PDT(TM) announced that they now have an STC for Boeing 737NG – 700, 800 & 900 aircraft types for both the CabinPinnacle(TM) server and CabinACe(TM)wireless access point. The STC was just awarded prior to APEX in Singapore, and we understand that Kaiser Charter was the first installation completed in October. This STC represents the first phase of certifications and it is our understanding that phase 2 will include the CabinEdge(TM) content loader. The content loader works while the aircraft is in service and data is trickled, loading into shadow memory, and eventually ending up in the operational memory as the update is installed. Telefonix PDT is also working on garnering a similar STC for the A320 aircraft family. The STC/PMA was strategically planned to grow the company’s customer base for the 737 in the Asia region. The airlines have the data rights to use the system, with the hardware being sold, not leased. Lest you forget, Telefonix(TM) has had a long standing relationship with production in China; and, in 2017, the company has plans to establish a repair station in China, in addition to their current repair station in Waukegan, Illinois. One point that was stressed in our interview at APEX was that Telefonix PDT is not just an equipment provider, but a design and engineering services provider as well. (Editor’s Note: IFExpress has watched Telefonix PDT grow over the past 20+ years and we feel that they have developed excellent, low-cost IFE system components and the China relationships, as well as their involvement with many hardware manufactures within the industry, is proof of this. You should watch this company in the coming year – we think they are going to grow!)

Industry News:

Panasonic

Have you heard about the Panasonic Blog? We asked Panasonic how it came about and here is what a spokesperson said: “Matthias Walter and Estel Carbo worked very hard on this and have a plan that we thinks helps give more insights into the IFEC landscape.”Matthias Walther, Senior Manager of Integrated Marketing at Panasonic Avionics said, “Marketing these days has many facets. Hard sales has its place in marketing too but in an industry as relationship-driven as ours it’s essential to engage in a dialog that is more about education than promotion, more about solutions than product and more about value than price. Of course we will occasionally talk about us and what we bring to the table but only if we and what we write adds value to the daily lives of our customers will our blog be successful.” Noted Panasonic: “One of the business principles of Panasonic’s founder Knosuke Matsushita describes customer focus always trumping sales concerns. In that spirit our blog intends to drive knowledge, our relationship with our customers and the quality of decision making in one direction, UP.”Check it out here.

Panasonic Weather Solution

Panasonic Avionics Corporation and Safety Line unveiled a strategic partnership that will enable airlines to benefit from significant fuel savings. Panasonic Weather Solutions (PWS) provides Safety Line with enhanced global weather forecast through real-time weather data collection from its TAMDAR sensors and FlightLink Iridium system. TAMDAR data provides observations of wind, temperature, and moisture every five seconds as TAMDAR-equipped aircraft descend and ascend at nearly 300 airports across North America. It also collects about 3,500 profiles each day from several hundred additional airports located in East Asia, the Pacific, and Europe. This data is used by Panasonic’s Forecasting Center of Excellence (FCoE), which develops detailed station-based weather forecasting, as well as enhanced weather forecasting. The process is fully automated from the weather live feed to flight plan analysis and climb schedule issuance to the pilot. Airlines can reduce fuel consumption by up to 10 percent during ascent thanks to OptiClimb’s unique patented solution, which uses a combination of machine learning performance models for each individual aircraft, and the computing of optimized climb profiles issued ahead of each flight.

We should note that Hawaiian Airlines has experienced the benefits of SwiftBroadband-Safety delivered through Cobham advanced AVIATOR avionics and has now chosen to expand its commitment to high speed broadband in the flight deck with its A321neo. But to see the features that are provided, you must check out this Inmarsat Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System feature download – this is the future of aviation safety and you need to check it out!

Boeing

The FAA issued a new rule that forces Boeing 787 operators to periodically shut down and restart airplane power that reboots onboard computers to overcome a glitch that shuts down flight control computers during flight! Finding and fixing this “inconsistency” will be very, very interesting. Stay Tuned!

Satellite 2017

Be a part of the world’s largest gathering of the international satellite community. Taking place in Washington, D.C. March 6-9, 2017 the SATELLITE 2017 Conference and Exhibition don’t miss this opportunity to hear from executive speakers from commercial airlines, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force!

THE ‘Donald’

Donald Trump says the new Air Force One contract should be cancelled! Perhaps Airbus will make a better offer? Then Boeing put this news release out – Boeing Statement on Air Force One – Dec 6, 2016 Or, you might want to read the following story from Gizmodo – beware there are x-rated words, so watch out!

Other

If you have been wondering where IoT and cloud computing are going, one answer is ‘physically portable data’. This is going to be one of the markets of the next generation cloud because of security and access as large (and now medium) data portability and cloud interaction become involved. We suspect that the airlines will see value in this if hacking gets any worse Amazon Cloud Gets A Bit More Hybrid This just may be one futures of the medium and big data cloud storage and security.

While in Singapore, we heard one word over and over – millennial- so we thought after the show we would do the research on who they are and why they are so important to some industries. While this quick bit of data is just a speed read, we think the answers are telling and important to IFEC, especially C (Communications).

First what is a millennial? It is a person ‘reaching young adulthood around the year 2000’ the dictionary said. Noted Goldman Sachs: “The Millennial generation is the largest in US history and as they reach their prime working and spending years, their impact on the economy is going to be huge. Millennials have come of age during a time of technological change, globalization and economic disruption. That’s given them a different set of behaviors and experiences than their parents.They have been slower to marry and move out on their own, and have shown different attitudes to ownership that have helped spawn what’s being called a ‘sharing economy.’ They’re also the first generation of digital natives, and their affinity for technology helps shape how they shop. They are used to instant access to price comparisons, product information and peer reviews.” Further, a company called iGR interviewed and surveyed millennials to get their views on communication and technology and here is what they said: “As the largest and highly communication-tech-savy generation; they are at the epicenter of our curiosity to drive decision-making for the next wave of innovation in infrastructure. Take note! The most successful service providers over the next 5-10 years will be those who best understand the emerging generations communication behavior, accurately anticipate core service wants and needs, proactively adapt and adjust business strategies, and finally, provide the most relevant solutions and services.” That about says it all and explains why the word ‘millennial’ was so popular in Singapore, especially with those who dealt with communications, connectivity, and cost!

“Over the past 15 years, a number of factors have resulted in an increase in the frequency, intensity and operational impact of sand and dust storms in the Middle East and surrounding areas,” said

Bob Richard, senior director, ARINCDirect for Rockwell Collins. “Integrating high-resolution forecast information into our flight and international trip support services will provide safety and performance benefits for business aviation operators in the region.”

The data used by ARINCDirect is sourced and exclusively licensed from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, host of the first World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Center with activity specialization on Atmospheric Sand and Dust Forecast, the Barcelona Dust Forecast Center for the EuMEA region. The data has been used by government authorities for air quality monitoring, as well as industrial and aviation interests.

The integration is currently in beta testing and is available for demonstration in the Rockwell Collins booth, #421, at the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association Show (MEBAA 2016), Jebel Ali, Dubai, December 6-8, 2016.

ARINCDirect provides business aviation operators with the single most comprehensive portfolio of flight support solutions in the industry including cabin connectivity services, flight planning, regional and international trip support and flight operations management.

One interesting thing about an increase in connectivity, there is a plethora of uses for it that weren’t always in the planning stage! Our lead story this week is based on a use for connectivity that made the possibility of turbulent weather reporting a reality via the use of a flight crew tablet, a Flight Weather Viewer app, and of course Gogo connectivity. The following is just one usage for increased connectivity on planes. Our image this week is one from the Gogo website and we thought you might find it an interesting addition to the weather story.

While today’s feature is a far cry from IFE, it is one of improved flight experience via connectivity. IFExpress was not surprised when we found out that the folks at Delta were involved in reducing the impact of inflight turbulence and so we did a bit of research. We asked Gogo what the story was and we were directed to Delta talks turbulence for a bit of background. Delta airlines has had their eyes on reducing turbulence impact for some time and to give you an idea of the magnitude of the turbulence solution, here is one sentence from the article that sums up the value of ‘working the problem’: “According to NASA’s Weather Accident Prevention Project, turbulence costs airlines approximately $100 million every year. It also makes customers and crews uncomfortable, and in rare cases, can even cause a few bumps and bruises on board.”

Obviously, the issue for Delta is turbulence, but the issue here for Gogo is connectivity, and when we contacted their communication source, Morgan Painter, she noted: “…we are really excited about this partnership and have heard great feedback from DL’s pilots around improved flight safety and efficiency – as the article mentions, some even have been calling it “an industry game changer”. This is just another partnership that gets us one step closer to the reality of a connected aircraft.” Aha, the magic words you will hear more and more about in the future… and the reason we found this turbulence solution intriguing relies on The Connected Aircraft. Gogo noted: “Check out this link, it includes information about our technologies, airline partners and vision for the connected aircraft.”

As we mentioned earlier, our rectangle is a picture of the aircraft hardware involved in the Delta solution which also employs a Delta Flight Weather Viewer App on the crew devices, all working through Gogo connectivity. Together the system and the crew get the information they need to make the right flight decisions to handle turbulence: climb, descend, slow down, or change route.“Predicting the where, when and intensity of turbulence is notoriously difficult to do. But Delta has developed a new, industry-leading app that’s helping pilots better spot and avoid it.”

“For Gogo, we are providing the broadband connection between the Delta tablet EFB (Microsoft Surface) and associated app and ground servers,” the company notes. Here’s what Delta says: “Setting Delta’s app apart from similar technology, the data is customized by aircraft type, since turbulence affects a 737 narrowbody differently than a much larger A330. It is also available in real time, thanks to fast and secure connectivity via Gogo’s in-flight Wi-Fi network, instead of through the traditional ACARS digital datalink system that’s been in place since the late 1970s. Bandwidth and network speeds offered by Gogo vs. legacy datalinks is a key difference inherent with our technology where latency is measured in milliseconds for supporting successful TCP/IP communications.”

With more than 16 commercial airlines, 2,800 connected aircraft (and some 7,000 business jets), Gogo is in a good place to help a lot of fliers. Network speed and data connectivity will certainly change the world of commercial flying… and besides it’s hard to enjoy inflight entertainment when the plane is bouncing all over the sky.

(Editor’s Note: We wanted to give our readers a view of what hardware is involved in the connectivity solution and that is why we chose the airplane graphic. You will probably understand the Ku antenna, onboard server, and internal cabin pax Wi-Fi antennas. However, there are two boxes that we had to get a bit more data on: KANDU and MODMAN. For you tekkies: “The MODMAN (Modem and Manager) is the interface between the antenna and our equipment, and is responsible for converting the satellite data stream. This in turn feeds into the onboard Gogo server and on to the cabin wireless access points, allowing your devices to connect over Wi-Fi. The KANDU (Ku/Ka Aircraft Networking Data Unit) is what physically controls the antenna. It interfaces with the aircraft navigational systems to control the movement of the antenna. The KANDU is also responsible for making sure the system reconnects to the right satellite as a single satellite can only cover a certain area, which means longer flights may switch between 2 or even 3 different satellites.” There, now you know… )

CEO, Paul Margis, said: “Our Weather Solutions division sets the standard for world-class weather forecasting. We are proud to partner with Denver International Airport Ground Operations to deliver the most accurate weather information available for operational safety and efficiency.” He also noted: “Denver International Airport can be confident that the weather forecasting they receive from Panasonic will provide them with an operational advantage, from proper staffing levels to staging the right equipment and materials appropriate to the weather circumstance.”

Inmarsat:
A career in the rapidly expanding space industry is not just about launching and flying spacecraft according to Inmarsat, a world leader in mobile satellite communications. Announcing the company’s search for its next generation of ‘space pioneers’, the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Michele Franci, emphasised that to remain a global leader, Inmarsat is focused on attracting world-class engineering talent.Inmarsat’s third ‘Technology Development Programme’ (TDP), which was launched today at New Scientist Live in London with British ESA astronaut Tim Peake and graduates from Inmarsat’s second TDP programme, is designed to start the space engineering careers of five STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) graduates. The winning candidates, selected from UK and European universities, will have the opportunity to undertake a two-year placement with Inmarsat and the offer of a permanent position on the successful completion of the program.

SITA:
The Greater Orlando Aviation Administration (GOAA) today unveiled a new standard in airport displays that will span the length of five football fields to create a fun and interactive check-in experience for the 42 million passengers who travel to and from Orlando International Airport every year. SITA, the air transport technology provider, has partnered with Synect to design and install the ultra-high definition video wall, which fully integrates with the airport operational systems to deliver dynamic way-finding along with flight information, destination time and weather, security and gate information. In addition, the family-friendly airport can now display engaging games to entertain its young travelers and decrease perceived wait times.

The digital canvas, which will span 1,560 feet (475 metres), comprises more than 700 55” LG LCD screens to create a vast and continuous video wall, essentially creating digital wallpaper. The new digital experience at Orlando also includes installations from the curb side to the terminals, including outdoor digital displays, self-check-in and way-finding video walls.

Panasonic’s expert meteorologists utilize highly-accurate and unique atmospheric datasets, as well as sophisticated 4D quality control and proprietary forecasting models, to provide Denver International Airport ground operations with state-of-the-art and unmatched forecasting for informed decision making.

Panasonic Avionics CEO, Paul Margis, said: “Our Weather Solutions division sets the standard for world-class weather forecasting. We are proud to partner with Denver International Airport Ground Operations to deliver the most accurate weather information available for operational safety and efficiency.”

Margis continued, “Denver International Airport can be confident that the weather forecasting they receive from Panasonic will provide them with an operational advantage, from proper staffing levels to staging the right equipment and materials appropriate to the weather circumstance.”

With the integration of real-time data from the Connected Aircraft, GEE now provides airline executives and operations managers with the most current and complete views of flight performance. GEE can access information from it’s navAero aircraft interface devices, proprietary Airconnect Global in-flight connectivity systems, or third-party communications links. Flight profiles, including three-dimensional flight tracks, can be updated every second with full data encryption and segregation for security. Based on airline requirements, GEE can now also utilize real-time maintenance, in-flight entertainment and environmental data to supply business intelligence and improve operations workflow.

The cloud-based platform is accessible on a subscription basis with an available library of dashboards and visualization tools highlighting key performance metrics. masFlight integrates with third-party business intelligence systems including Tableau, SiSense and Oracle, and has a robust programming API for local system integration.

“More than 300 airlines worldwide operate fleets with over 20 aircraft and each faces the same challenges in collecting, fusing and analyzing the information they collect from their aircraft,” said Bernard Asare, Vice President of Connected Aircraft Systems. “masFlight leverages petabyte-scale cloud data processing and analytics capabilities to fuse real-time Connected Aircraft data with ground-based surveillance and flight status systems for the most accurate, timely and actionable operational visibility.”

Providing tropical weather forecasting services with higher accuracy, reliability and granularity, to help governments and businesses make better operational decisions

Raleigh, NC | April 18, 2016– Panasonic Weather Solutions (Panasonic) today announced that its Tropical 4D weather forecasting service will be available for the start of the 2016 tropical season. Tropical 4D will provide partners with detailed tropical system forecasting information, including Panasonic’s proprietary tropical cyclone forecast tracks, for multiple regions around the globe.

Panasonic Weather Solutions is the only private entity in the world with a custom-developed, end-to-end global weather-modeling platform. Recent weather events, such as Hurricane Joaquin, highlight the superiority of Panasonic Weather Solutions’ weather forecasting capabilities – from atmospheric data collection to high-performance numerical models that consistently run on an 11,000-core supercomputer named Sora. Panasonic is partnering with governments to enhance public safety, as well as leading corporations in multiple vertical markets to improve operational performance and become more environmentally friendly, with best-in-class weather forecasting.

Panasonic is partnering with governments to enhance public safety, as well as leading corporations in multiple vertical markets to improve operational performance and become more environmentally friendly, with best-in-class weather forecasting.

Lake Forest, CA | November 10, 2015– Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) today announced an agreement to supply its advanced global aircraft weather data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the National Mesonet Program.

Panasonic’s proprietary high-resolution atmospheric observations will improve forecasts from the regional and global weather models run by the National Weather Service. Dr. Neil Jacobs, Chief Atmospheric Scientist for Panasonic Weather Solutions, which is part of Panasonic Avionics, “We are very excited to continue our long-term relationship with NOAA to improve the quality of weather forecasting in the United States. The distinct advantages of our aviation-based observational data will enhance NOAA’s mission of protecting life and property.”

TAMDAR data provides observations of wind, temperature, and moisture every 5 seconds as TAMDAR-equipped aircraft descend and ascend at nearly 300 airports across North America. Each day, these take offs and landings provide upwards of 1500 “vertical profiles” in the vicinity of these airports, greatly supplementing the vertical profiles observed with National Weather Service balloons. TAMDAR also provide about 3500 profiles each day from several hundred additional airports located in East Asia, the Pacific, and Europe.

“The National Weather Service has long recognized the utility of TAMDAR data for analysis and numerical forecast models and I’m pleased about this path forward to incorporate these data in our day-to-day operations,” said Louis Uccellini, Ph.D., director of NOAA’s National Weather Service.

“The provision of this unique TAMDAR dataset continues to steer the National Mesonet Program in a direction consistent with the National Academy of Science’s ‘Network of Networks’ vision of a broad range of non-federal data to improve situational awareness at National Weather Service forecast offices and to enhance our high-resolution modeling capabilities,” said Curtis Marshall, Ph.D., National Mesonet Program Manager at the National Weather Service.

The National Mesonet Program is the National Weather Service’s primary program for acquiring meteorological observational data from networks operated by non-federal partners, including the states, academia, and the private sector. Global Science and Technology, Inc. was awarded the most recent umbrella contract, which includes nearly three dozen network partners, including Panasonic’s TAMDAR network.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s core weather technology includes:

• Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) sensor, a small, lightweight device designed to collect sophisticated weather data from the atmosphere during the flight of an aircraft. TAMDAR is installed on a network of hundreds of commercial aircraft. The TAMDAR sensors collect thousands of highly detailed and accurate readings from the atmosphere each day.

• The ability to transmit the atmospheric data over Panasonic’s global aeronautical broadband connectivity service and Iridium’s satellite network, in real time, to Panasonic’s data center.

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Inside View

The 2009 Aircraft Interiors Expo was extremely productive for SIE. Structural Integrity Engineering (SIE) has long experience with antenna installation design and certification on commercial, business and military aircraft. So at Hamburg, it was gratifying to see the broadband connectivity market reaching a level of growth and maturity where installations are going to ramp up and the broadband dream can be realized.”- John Courtright, Director, Sales & Marketing, SIE